ANT/Indonesia lacking in oil experts

Pangkalpinang (ANTARA News) - Indonesia is facing a lack of experts in oil following the limited capacity of higher learning institutions in the country to produce skilled engineers employed in foreign oil mining companies.

Prof Dr Sudarto Notosewiyo, Dean of the Mining and Oil Faculty of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), said here on Friday, adding that three higher learning institutions like ITB, UPN Veteran and Trisakti, produced only 280 to 300 oil engineers annually.

Ideally, Indonesia needs at least 500 oil engineers each year to meet the need for foreign oil experts in other countries.

Many of Indonesian oil experts preferred to work in other countries because of the much higher wages.

Indonesian oil graduates especially from ITB worked in many foreign mining companies because their skills are highly rewarded.

"To persuade them to return to Indonesia, the government needs to offer them an incentive namely that their salary in Indonesia will be 70 to 80 percent of what they receiced in their overseas emplolyment," he said.

A lack of oil experts in Indonesia will cause the high oil potential in Indonesia to be not optimally tapped.(*)